Tools

The terror of living from paycheck to paycheck pervades this 2011 indie drama about the working-poor of Las Vegas. Lauren Ambrose, in an impressively unsentimental lead performance, plays an undereducated single mother working several low-paying jobs to make ends meet. Her fatal flaw is that she isn't as tough as she thinks she is; despite her assertive demeanor, she consistently puts herself in positions where she's vulnerable to financial exploitation. This often feels like a European art movie (particularly Erick Zonca's The Dreamlife of Angels) in its naturalistic detail and propulsive editing, though writer-director Bryan Wizemann localizes this style with resourceful location work and sharp, idiomatic dialogue. With Penelope Ann Miller and Dylan Baker.
ByBen Sachs